Zuma’s request to postpone jail term, denied

A South African regional court on Friday rejected Zuma’s request to postpone his jail term. The 79-year old will remain behind bars after his application for his prison term to be delayed was dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

Zuma has begun his 15-month jail sentence Thursday. He has one more legal bid to be released. The country’s Constitutional Court will hear the case on Monday, July 12.

Jacob Zuma turned himself in at the Estcourt Correctional Center Thursday morning. Zuma was sentenced for failing to obey a court order to testify at a commission probing him over accusations of corruption during his presidency between 2009 to 2018.

Some of his supporters have been protesting in parts of his rural home in the KwaZulu-Natal province, barricading roads with burning tires. On Friday, they protested by blocking some roads in the province over his imprisonment.

Suzan O/AFN/AJZ